Quick Start Guide to Wedding Stationery

Wedding Stationery is a once in a lifetime purchase that you usually purchase at the beginning of your wedding planning, Your choice will have a huge influence on your day, it will build up the excitement for your guests & once you have worked out what you like everything else seems to fall into place, As a stationery designer I’ve gotten quite familiar with couples trying to figure out their wedding stationery, so I have created a quick start guide to help you understand the basics of wedding invitations,

BESPOKE V’S SEMI – CUSTOM

Bespoke stationery design allows you to have a designer with years of experience create a design suite from scratch that is created just for you. What is great about bespoke is that you have endless options and at the end the design reflects you as a couple. You’ll collaborate with your designer back & forth with your design until they’re the wedding stationery of your dreams.

Semi – Custom invitations are perfect if you are looking for a lower price with a quick turn around. Many designers create a variety of Semi-custom invitations where you can add your details, have a colour change etc. Changes to the actual design would be reserved for bespoke invitations only.

PRINTING METHODS

Digital printing consists of a high quality printer transferring a digital file onto the paper. This is usually the most cost – effective printing method. When printing on smooth silk cards it creates beautiful crisp lines & text.

Foil printing is a method that involves using heat & pressure to adhere & seal a thin metal film to the paper. Foiling creates a really special end result & has become very popular in the last few years.

Letterpress Printing involves using a metal plate which physically presses the ink onto the paper. This leaves a light indentation along with the ink that you can feel when you run your fingers over the paper. Letterpress printing looks amazing on textured papers.

QUANTITIES

A general rule to follow is remember you are ordering one invitation per household not per guest. Order around 50-75% of your total guest count (depending on if you have a lot of single guests or not) On top of this add an extra 15-25 extra this allows you to keep them as keepsakes, have some for the photographer on the morning of the wedding and lets you have a few in case you forget anybody. It is always a lot more expensive to go back & get 2 or 3 printed.

TIME FRAME

Sending out your stationery on time is essential on making sure your guests attend, especially if they are coming from abroad. Invitations typically take anywhere between 4 -12 weeks ( depending on your designer) after this they have to be printed & assembled so you will want to order your invitations around 8-6 months before your wedding date. Invitations should be sent out at least 6 weeks before your wedding date.

BUDGETING

Weddings are expensive & it’s no secret. One of the first things couples as is “how much will it cost”. With stationery you should work out what you like first as pricing is flexible & is often affected by the elements you are interested in. Pricing can come down by using a different paper choice or printing process.

REMEMBER

You can contact us with any questions on info@soon2be.i, that is what we are here for.